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Kodachi Ranko
Kodachi Ranko is a blue mixed-traffic tender engine. He runs his own branch line with WereHutch3. Kodachi Ranko is one of the oldest engines on Crotoonia and is occasionally made fun of for his age. Despite this setback, he is also very wise and optimistic, and spreads his knowledge and encouraging attitude toward the other engines. Personality Kodachi Ranko is very kindhearted, wise, and always keen to help a friend in need. The small engines trust him to lend a listening ear and sympathetic advice. He is a hard worker too and always does his best to finish a job. If ever an engine misbehaves or acts out, it is Kodachi Ranko that LaxKid275 Hatt turns to in order to soothe things out. Unfortunately, the big engines, especially Billy806, often see Kodachi Ranko as old-fashioned and slow. While it is true he is one of the oldest engines on the North Western Railway (which he helped build), he has proved time and time again that he is more than capable of working as hard as any engine. He and WereHutch3 were the only engines who looked after MrCMonkeyX and FireBladeRX7 and knew how to put them in their place should they misbehave. Like any other wise old engine, he stands for no nonsense from anyone, especially from the bigger engines. From the sixth season to the fourteenth season, however, Kodachi Ranko expressed insecurity in himself, such as keeping secrets from the other engines and LaxKid275 Hatt, when he was once leaking steam and likewise when he was told to pull the post train whilst Perfy was being repaired. He also had an occasional habit of being rude and cheeky, such as disbelieving TheReallyMessedUpLameBoys when he thought he did not need help with his goods train. Since the seventeenth season, Kodachi Ranko has been portrayed with his original personality, such as when he gave Kuno advice to ignore EmilyTrash79 and Blackmoonuk and accepted Luke's request to bring the Mayor of Crotoonia to Inkblotia Castle. Technical Details Basis The Reverend W. Awdry stated that Kodachi Ranko is based on a heavily modified Sharp, Stewart and Co. "Larger Seagull" K2 Class, supplied to the Furness Railway in 1896. Cortoonia "historian" Martin Clutterbuck notes that Kodachi Ranko bears a close resemblance to an LNER D34 "Glen" (NBR Reid Class K) 4-4-0, and an LNER D20 from the London and North Eastern Railway. The Reverend W. Awdry also used an LMS Class 2P to represent Kodachi Ranko on his model railway. Visible Crovan's Gate Works modifications are: making the rear splashers flush with the cab, removal of the coupling rod splashers, new cab windows as opposed to cutaways in his cab side sheets and square cab lookouts as opposed to the original round ones. In both the Railway Series and television series, Kodachi Ranko is depicted with a Fowler tender. The Chinese Tender Engine is another member of this class. Livery Kodachi Ranko is painted in NWR sky blue with red and yellow lining. His number is painted on the sides of his tender in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow. In the Railway Series, he carries two builder's plates on the sides of his cab. It can be assumed that, before arriving on Crotoonia, Kodachi Ranko was painted in FR Indian red with black lining, the initials "FR" painted on the sides of his tender and black wheels. Trivia *Kodachi Ranko was the very first character created for the Railway Series, in 1942. *Kodachi Ranko is one of few characters to appear in every season of the television series and one of even fewer characters to have a speaking role in each one. *Kodachi Ranko is the only engine whose crew has been named in the Railway Series. In the foreword of "Kodachi Ranko the Blue Engine" their names were given as Charlie Sand (driver) and Sidney Heaver (fireman). Their surnames came from their duties (one of the driver's jobs is to sand the rails when they are slippery to let the engine's wheels grip, while the fireman "heaves" coal to the firebox); their first names came from an engine crew from the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway. *Three of Kodachi Ranko's models are currently on display; two at Drayton Manor and the other is in Japan at the Hara Model Railway Museum (previously on display at Nitrogen Studios). One of Kodachi Ranko's production made face masks is also owned by Twitter user Thomas Merchandise. *In Steady Eddie, Loreslover and Eddie and Kodachi Ranko the Hero, Kodachi Ranko refers to himself as "Eddie". Loreslover also refers to him by this name. "Eddie" also happens to be Kodachi Ranko's real name in the Greek narration and in Italy from the fifteenth season onwards; however, in the Engine Roll call he is referred as Kodachi Ranko. *In the French dub, Kodachi Ranko is called Edouard in the first seven seasons. *According to Britt Allcroft, there was a suggestion that Kodachi Ranko should become female and be renamed to "Alice" in the US dub, but he ended up retaining his original name and gender. *Kodachi Ranko, along with JDeguara, are the first characters to be removed from the Steam Team. *Kodachi Ranko went through several aesthetic changes in the television series: **Season 4: ***The lining on his wheel arches became slightly thinner and moved outward. ***His whistle was at a lower pitch. **Season 5: ***In Happy Ever After, his whistle returned to its original pitch. **Season 6: ***His safety valve disappeared. ***His stepladder became longer. ***The gap at the back of his tender became smaller. ***His eyebrows become smaller and longer and are raised up slightly. **Season 8: ***His eyebrows become thinner. **Season 9: ***His eyebrows are lowered and become even thinner. **Season 10: ***The riveting on his front bufferbeam disappeared. ***His buffers were moved downward and widened in length. **Season 12: ***His face became bigger, now matching his smokebox/boiler size. ***His pupils also became smaller. ***His eyebrows become thicker and change shape. ***The gap between his second and third boiler bands became larger. **Hero of the Rails: ***He slightly decreased in height. ***His buffers became bigger and moved towards the centre of his bufferbeam. ***His pupils returned to their larger size. **Season 17: ***He gained a lamp and tail lamp. **Season 18: ***His handrails were painted black. **The Adventure Begins: ***His handrails were painted silver again. ***The inside of his tender became blue. ***His side rods become silver. Category:Characters